Animal rights group seeks closure of zoos

Garbed in black and white "prison suits" and wearing tiger masks, members of the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) staged a 30-minute protest in front of the Manila Zoo and Botanical Gardens to demand the liberation of caged animals.

The animal rights activists called for the return of the animals to their natural habitat. Their demonstration is part of a worldwide campaign against zoos.

Outside the gates of Manila Zoo along Adriatico street in Malate, the demonstrators lifted banners that read, "Zoos: Cruel Animal Prisons," and demanded the closure of the Manila Zoo.

They chose to hold their demonstration at the 47-year-old Manila Zoo to attract attention. The group plans to hold succeeding protests in other zoos to catch the attention of local government officials.

PETA spokesperson Jamie Alarcon said they are open to the idea of holding a dialogue with Manila Mayor Lito Atienza.

In a statement, PETA campaign manager Rochelle Regodon said animals in zoos are "serving a lifetime sentence with no parole."

"Let’s just leave them in the wild and use zoos as sanctuaries for animals rescued from circuses, marine parks and exploitative forms of entertainment."

Alarcon said. "Since our Independence Day is only one week away, we are urging the Philippines to become the first zoo-free country in the region. Since we are the first democracy here in Asia, simulan din natin ang pagpapalaya sa mga hayop."

She added a number of animals brought to zoos were uprooted from their natural surroundings and from their families at a tender age.

PETA distributed copies of their "zoochosis checklist," which encourages zoo visitors to closely observe the behavior of animals.

Questions include the following: Were the animals engaged in biting of bars of the cages; licking or repeatedly licking the bars/walls; pacing or continuous walking back and forth; neck-twisting or unnatural twisting and rolling of the neck; vomiting; circling or walking in circles; coprophagia or playing with and eating excrement; head-bobbing; over-grooming; and self mutilation or repeatedly tail-biting, leg-chewing, head bashing?

Meanwhile, Manila Zoo administrator Romulo Bernardo said over the years, they have been improving conditions and surroundings and that their effort has met international standards for animal dwellings.

"Zoos have an important educational function because by seeing animals, you will better understand them in a way you can’t see in TV or books. Children need to see animals up close in order to appreciate them, and work for their conservation," Bernardo said.

Besides, he said, zoos also serve as a center for unwanted exotic animals such as birds and snakes. "Some of those brought in were injured and might die if they are returned to the wild."

He added that most zoos are centers for captive breeding.

"Most animals are products of captive breeding programs. They lived in the wild, but can’t survive in the wild. Those animals are vanishing because of the loss of habitat," he said.